Her Darkest Secret
by NinaStallmann
Summary: In the "Cave of Secrets" everyone is revealing their darkest secret and when its Wendy's turn she wonders how she'd ever going to tell her past love that not only did their son survive but he's the most evil person in all the lands; both fairytale and non-fairytale.


**Her Darkest Secret**

*this takes place in the "Cave of Secrets"*

After hearing her friends reveal their darkest secrets Wendy was relieved. She'd been so terrified that she might have to reveal her own but now she didn't have to worry. Surely theirs would suffice and the bridge would reach them without her having to speak one word. She watched as each stone revealed itself. She egged it on, she practically begged it to reach them and then her mouth ran dry. The bridge still wasn't complete and now all eyes were on her.

"No," she said shaking her head. "I won't."

"You have to," said Emma. "This is the only way to rescue Neal."

"You don't understand," Wendy pleaded trying to hold back tears. "I can't. This secret, my secret will change everything. It'll destroy everything."

"Wendy it can't be that bad," soothed Snow who smiled at her gently. "Whatever it is, we won't judge you."

"Im not scared of being judged," she argued. "This secret is something I've kept to myself for years. I hid it deep down with the rest of my pain and covered it in anger and the need for revenge. You really don't understand…"

She could see that her friends didn't understand how could they? They didn't know, and they couldn't know. Not ever.

"Please," pleaded Emma, coming to stand face to face with her. "I know you've been hurt, I know exactly what you've been through all these years. We battled some of the same demons. We had our heart broken by someone we loved…" Wendy turned her gaze from Emma to Hook. "We've both spent a lot of time hating that person and wanting nothing more than for them to feel what we've felt. We've spent so many years alone because we didn't want to get hurt again. I know Wendy, I know how heavy a secret can be but trust me, sharing your burden with others helps more than you could imagine."

Wendy sighed and looked down at her hands; she was shaking like a leaf. Curling her hands in to fists she nodded. She'd reveal her secret. Not for Emma, not for herself but for Neal. They were best friends; at least they had been years ago. He'd help save her brothers and back then she'd had no idea who he really was. Now she did.

"Killian," Wendy murmured, looking up at him and taking a step forward. "There's something you need to know."

She could see by the look in his eyes that he was unsure. Either that or he just didn't want to hear what she had to say but it was time. As much as she wished she could take this secret to her grave she couldn't.

"Before I tell you, I need to know one thing," she said. "Before, when you told Emma you loved her and that you never thought anyone could replace your first love. Did you mean that?"

Hook took a hold of Wendy's hand and held it up to his heart. She could feel the gentle thumping of his heart behind his rib cage and he nodded.

"I meant it," he said. "As much as I loved Milah you were my first love and I never thought there would be anyone else until now."

"Okay," she mumbled. "Well, here I go. Firstly, I've never stopped loving you. I know I left after my miscarriage and I know that we've fought on opposite sides since then. We've hunted each other down like wild beasts and even got close to killing each other a couple of times. There was so much hate there but that's gone now. I know we've reconciled and Im very happy about that. I just needed you to know that I honestly never stopped loving you."

Out of the corner of her eye Wendy saw Emma glance towards the bridge.

"That's not my secret," Wendy said to her. "I think deep down Killian knew that Id never stopped loving him."

"Of course I knew," he said flashing his debonair smile. "There were countless times you had your sword to my throat and never, not once did you use it. If you truly had hated me Id have been dead a long time ago."

He was right. Many times Wendy had tracked down Hook and many times she had had the opportunity to kill him but there was always something there holding her back. She had never admitted it to herself but deep down she'd known she'd never killed him because she still loved him.

"Well, secondly. I never had a miscarriage."

Immediately all eyes turned on her. Snow and Charming looked flabbergasted and Wendy wasn't surprised. They knew all too well the story Wendy had told them, it was the story that had made her the fierce hunter and warrior she was today. To find out she'd never had a miscarriage changed everything.

"What are you talking about?" said Hook, his tone darkening a little.

"When I became sick from the nightshade poisoning, you left to find a cure right?"

"Of course," he said. "That was the night you disappeared and I never saw you again until you tried to slit my throat in my sleep."

It was a painful memory for Wendy and she could see it was just as painful for Killian.

"I left," she said. "To find my own cure. I knew who could help me."

"Rumpelstiltskin," murmured Snow.

"Yes," said Wendy. "He'd been my friend for so many years, he'd gotten me through so much and he owed me a favor. I asked him to save my child and eventually he did which in turn saved me."

"What do you mean by, 'eventually,'" asked Snow.

This was the hard part, the great reveal and Wendy had to somehow find the right way to tell it.

"Rumpelstiltskin is great and powerful, he knew the future of our child and it was a future that left him torn…"

**Several years ago…**

"I can save you and your child," said Rumpelstiltskin. "But deary it comes with a price, magic always does."

"Whatever the price is Ill pay it," cried Wendy. "Please, please you need to save him."

"You will not need to pay this price," said the Dark One wiping Wendy's forehead with a damp cloth. "Ill be paying it, but not because I want to."

"I don't understand," said Wendy.

Rumpelstiltskin turned away from her, unsure of how to tell his friend what he knew. She had to know though; her future depended on this child being born. As did his.

"There's something you don't know about this child. In order to save you I can whip up an antidote to the poison but that won't be enough for the child. I will have to take him back to another time where a man I met once can cure him. He's a voodoo witch doctor with powers you can only imagine. It means you won't see this child again until you're early teen years."

Wendy didn't understand, she was already an adult. Her teen years are behind her.

"Well," giggled Rumpelstiltskin. "Technically you've already crossed paths with him."

The idea of time travel made Wendy's brain hurt but she understood what Rumpel was saying to her. He was going to take her baby so far back in to the past that when she would be destined to meet him again she'd be a child herself.

"Okay," said Wendy urging Rumpel to continue. "What's the problem?"

"The problem is the child will grow up evil. Completely devoid of any human emotions but in order for me to survive, in order for Bae to survive your child needs to survive."

Wendy was so confused, and if she admitted it a little scared. What was he talking about?

Rumpel leaned in close and whispered in her ear exactly what he was talking about and she was overcome with a kind of heart ache she'd never encountered before…

"Wendy!" yelled Hook, his hands on her shoulders as he shook her. "What did the Dark One whisper to you? WHAT DID HE SAY!?"

Wendy's eyes filled with tears and she let go of all defenses.

"Peter," she sobbed. "Our child Killian, that beautiful little baby we created grew up to be evil. Peter Pan is our son."

The bridge to Neal was now complete but no one made a sound and no one moved a single step. Killian stared at her in disbelief and Wendy turned to see Emma, Snow and Charming stare at her open mouthed.

"We've known him for years," she said through tears. "This whole time we've known our son without knowing who he really was. At least, I didn't know who he was until Rumpel told me. Im so sorry I kept this from you."

Wendy collapsed to her knees and cried. That's all she could do. Cry. Killian knelt down in front of her and lifted her chin up to look at her. She'd half expected his eyes to be full of hate but instead he was smiling.

"Our boy is alive," he murmured. "All this time I thought we'd lost him."

"We have," she argued. "You've seen what he is, who he is, he's evil and evil needs to pay-"

"I know love," said Hook. "The plan still stands; he needs to be destroyed but…"

"I know," she laughed nervously. "It's a lot to process."

"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked. "All these years we could have tried to work things out, our son was alive there was no need for us to fight."

"I still blamed you," she confessed. "A part of me blamed you for how he was going to turn out. If I hadn't been poisoned we could have kept him, taught him right from wrong but we never got given that chance. Another part of me didn't want to burden you with the truth. He is after all the reason your brother is dead. I know I never met him but from the stories you told he was a great man and its because of our son that he's dead."

"It's strange," said Hook shaking his head. "It's strange to think I was looking at my own flesh and blood back then, I just didn't know."

Wendy nodded, understanding completely where he was coming from. That's why she couldn't tell him the rest. She was sure it was going to come out eventually. No one knew yet that Peter was Rumpel's father which made the Dark One their grandson which made Neal their great grandson and Henry their great, great grandson. It also made them related to Emma, not by blood but she was still family. It would crush Killian to know the woman he loved was the mother of their great, great grandson. It also would make him aware that his second love, Milah, was murdered by their grandson. Wendy wasn't sure how he would react so she kept her mouth shut. Enough secrets had been shared today. Emma was right though, letting go of this burden was a relief. She suddenly felt one hundred pounds lighter. Now they just to come to grips with the fact that their son, as evil as he was, needed to die and THEY were going to play a hand in it.


End file.
